Aura

Colin Bird from Cars.com: According to GM spokesman Brian Corbett, the suspension of the Malibu Hybrid is temporary and has no implications for future hybrid products from Chevrolet. The Saturn Aura Hybrid and Vue Hybrid, which use the same "mild" hybrid technology as the Malibu Hybrid, may also cease production.

Sharon Terlep and John Stoll from the Dow Jones Newswires: Each of General Motors' 350 US Saturn dealerships will receive offers to continue selling the vehicles under a tentative deal announced Friday to sell the brand to mega dealer Roger Penske. Penske, who runs the Penske Automotive Group chain of dealers, will take over the brands, trademarks, service and parts operations and distribution operations related to the Saturn. "We will have a completely independent company, and it will be lean," Penske said in a conference call with reporters Friday.

Chris Woodyard from USA Today: General Motors' potential bankruptcy filing is sure to prompt questions for the millions of consumers who own GM vehicles or for folks who are thinking about buying a new GM car or truck.

Saturn just announced that it's offering zero percent financing on 2008 Astra and 2008-09 Aura models, including hybrids, for 72 months. Zero percent financing for 60 months is also available for the 2009 Vue and Outlook crossovers. This is a Memorial Day sale as the deal expires this Tuesday, May 26th.

Last month, General Motors announced that it would stop building Saturns when production of the brand's 2009 models ended later this year – unless, of course, Saturn is spun-off from GM and its new owners request GM to produce 2010 models for the brand's retailers to sell. With the sale of Saturn looking more and more likely, it is also looking more and more likely that GM will indeed build 2010 model year Saturns. Here's a look at what was in store for Saturn's 2010 model year – and what will likely be produced once Saturn is formally separated from GM.

Mike Morrissey, from the Saturn Communications Team equated Saturns to the popular advertising character, the Energizer Bunny, in a blog written on ImSaturn.com yesterday. Why you may ask? Saturn discovered through a research study conducted by R.L. Polk that 83% of all of the Saturns ever sold in the United States are still actively registered. You may remember that nearly two weeks ago Saturn celebrated the sale of their 4 millionth vehicle in Traverse City, Michigan: a black three door Astra. Of those 4 million vehicles, 3.3 million of them are still in use.

Richard Truett from Automotive News: GM spent billions in recent years developing terrific new vehicles and impressive new fuel-saving technology. Now much of this effort will be wasted – before it even had a chance in the market – with the closing of Saturn and Pontiac. Big mistake.

Scott Burgess from the Detroit News: For years, General Motors has been accused of relying on trucks and not building enough cars. Many say that's why the company is on the verge of bankruptcy right now. So when last week's announcement confirmed what has been percolating for months and the Saturn and Pontiac brands would be killed, it seemed like an oxymoron.

Kevin Ransom from AOL Autos via CNN: Car companies and insurers are working hard to try and reduce the cost of auto repairs and insurance premiums for consumers and some of the development is breathtaking in its innovation. This effort has already led to many new developments in the design of various auto parts and components – which have indeed led to a reduction in repair costs for various auto parts, components and structures. And more advances are on the way: some carmakers have recently ramped up their operations in this area, which should result in greater cost savings in coming years.

Richard Truett from Automotive News: When General Motors closes down Saturn later this year, it will lose just over a quarter of its sales of fuel-saving hybrids – the type of vehicles that the Obama administration wants automakers to build more of.

Random Article from the SaturnFans.com Archives

On April 5th, 2006, I was on my way to pick up my girlfriend from her job. I approached one of the busy intersections in our area, and as I went through the intersection, my car was suddenly going sideways, being pushed into oncoming traffic. A car had run their red light, and ended up t-boning my L200 at 40-50 miles per hour.